Letter: Resignation that came too late

Sir: I'm not sure that Sir Peter Harding, the Chief of the Defence Staff, should have resigned (report, 14 March), but since he did, why did he not do so when the conflict between his private life and the code of conduct first arose?

In fact, is there (in the recent, or even distant, past) any example of a minister or senior official taking the truly honourable course and resigning before anyone reveals, or threatens to reveal, their misdeeds?